Kenyan government to take control of cash transfer scheme hailed as a success by minister

British funding of a 10-year-old aid package to drought-hit communities in Kenya is to end in 2024 as part of a new economic partnership with the country, the international development secretary has told the Guardian.

The £143m programme, which has helped 600,000 vulnerable people in emergencies via direct cash transfers – a system criticised by some Conservatives as the equivalent of exporting the dole – is the first UK aid project of its kind which will be wholly taken over by a government in Africa.